 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Half Baked
- Review Date: October 1, 2009
- R
- Genre: Comedy
- 1998
Common Sense Media says
Goofy marijuana movie with weak plot.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie reeks of marijuana. The main characters smoke an excessive amount of pot and make it look pretty fun, like when they discover a special kind of weed that makes them fly through the air like superheroes. Several celebrities make cameos -- Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Janeane Garafalo, Jon Stewart -- which would seem to condone drug use by these potential role models. One brief scene of young teens smoking a joint appears. Characters do have to deal with some consequences for their drug use, and in the end the main character gives up pot for romance. Gay jokes pepper the film, though they stick to stereotypes ("Don't drop the soap!") rather than hostile hate words.
What's the story?
Four loser friends who have been smoking pot together since they were teens get into trouble when one friend goes on a munchie run and ends up in jail after feeding junk food to a diabetic police horse. In an attempt to get the friend out of jail (and spare him the inevitable homosexual prison assault), the remaining three friends start selling pot that Thurgood Jenkins (Dave Chappelle) steals from the hospital where he's a janitor. Because their pot is so good (it comes from the hospital's clinic trials department), they end up so successful that they attract the attention of a rival dealer. In the meantime, Thurgood meets an anti-drug girlfriend whom he must lie to about his pot use.
Is it any good?
This is the kind of movie that only pot smokers (current, former, or potential) will enjoy. The fragile plot is kept alive by the constant insider jokes, which range from clever (comedian Steven Wright plays Man-on-the-Couch -- an unknown guy who just sleeps on the roommates' couch throughout the whole movie), to dumb (the guys get a dog high).
Despite the movie's thin premise, Dave Chappelle is actually a very smart comedian, so he sticks all sorts of tiny details into the film that enrich it slightly. For example, in an attempt to get accepted into a clinical marijuana trial he tells a scientist that he's qualified because his grandfather was part of the Tuskegee experiments (when the US government used poor African-American men as test subjects beginning in the 1930s resulting in the unecessary death of many). These tidbits together with Chappelle's silly likeability save the film from horridness.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about drug use. The movie seems to say that pot isn't as big a deal as other drugs -- what do you think?
What does this movie teach about the experience of using marijuana? How realistic do you think the movie's depiction of pot use is?
Do you know anyone who smokes pot or uses other drugs? What's the allure of using drugs?
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- Teens & kids
Kid, 12 years old
August 3, 2010
AGE
Switch to Ben 10!
I hate Half Baked, Ben 10 is better.
should be PG-13.
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AGE
Switch to Ben 10!
I hate Half Baked, Ben 10 is better.
should be PG-13.
Was this review useful?
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Kid, 11 years old
August 3, 2010
AGE
Switch to Ben 10!
I hate Half Baked, Ben 10 is better.
should be PG-13.
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Kid, 12 years old
April 26, 2010
AGE
Not age appropriate for kids under 14, Age Appropriate for kids over 18; suggested age 11
On g4, it is TV-14-D-L-S and edited [censored] for someone 14-17. It's TV-MA and rated R on HBO. [uncensored] who loves adult videos but kids shouldn't think about that even young adults you won't see any bad things if you're not mature adult but 17 needs parental guidance but 18 fine.
Jason haddad kids! Will never find grownup pg, all pg13 or an r rated film.
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Kid, 9 years old
April 25, 2012
AGE
Must SEEEEE
Great film for teaching children about the positive effects of drug use
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| Studio: | Universal Studios Home Entertainment |
| Director: | Tamra Davis |
| Cast: | Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Diaz, Harland Williams |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 82 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 16, 1998 |
| DVD release date: | February 15, 2005 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | pervasive drug content, language, nudity and sexual material. |
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